Gaslighting verb
The action of manipulating someone by psychological means into accepting a false depiction of reality or doubting their own sanity.
Oxford English Dictionary
Included in the OED's 2018 Words of the Year, the term which has become an increasingly ubiquitous part of public discourse in the era of fake news and social media manipulation started with this story.
Based on Patrick Hamilton’s celebrated stage play, Thorold Dickinson’s (The Queen of Spades, The Next of Kin) 1940 classic Gaslight is a harrowing and claustrophobic study of murder, abuse and lust in Victorian London.
By turns charming and cruel, Anton Walbrook (The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp) excels as the sadistic husband who attempts to drive his wife (Diana Wynyard) mad to prevent her from disclosing his dark past.
This digitally remastered presentation of one of the great British psychological thrillers is accompanied by a number of Dickinson’s short documentary films.
Presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition
Spanish A B C (Thorold Dickinson, Sidney Cole, 1938, 20 mins): a short film on the Republican efforts to improve education standards during the Spanish Civil War
Behind the Spanish Lines (Sidney Cole, Thorold Dickinson, 1938, 20 mins): a companion piece to Spanish Civil War
Westward Ho! (Thorold Dickinson, 1940, 9 mins): a short film to promote the evacuation of urban children to rural areas
Miss Grant Goes to the Door (Brian Desmond Hurst, 1940, 7 mins): a short film about a German invasion from a story by Dickinson
Yesterday is Over Your Shoulder (Thorold Dickinson, 1940, 9 mins): a short film encouraging unskilled workers to join free, government organised, engineering training schemes
Original promotional materials and documents from the BFI National Archive (downloadable PDFs, DVD only)
